71
comments:

Anonymous
said...

I'm sorry to say that I'm a little disappointed with this. The bins are slightly different (I don't like the colours) and just rearranged up against the wall!

The old bins would look much the same if they had been rearranged against the wall. I thought Art mongers were going to come up with a design solution. I don't see much design here. Maybe they look better in real life.

Well it's better than nothing and certainly better than what was there before. I suppose because Artmongers have a demonstrable track record in clever and delightful in its cleverness work, there was an expectation of something a bit more well clever... the bins are supposed to look like parcels and packages, I'm not sure it succeeds.

This photo is not clear. Are those green, metal, recycle bins still there just out of frame? If not then it's a small improvement mainly because of the extra space. If they're still there then I'm appalled. Anyone of us could have told the council that the bins ought to be flush against the wall. The bins look almost the same but painted a different colour.

They look nothing like parcels. Not even close. Surely some string looking like it's binding them would have been more iconic. How much did this all cost? They look like they're covered in sticking plasters. Utter shit. Furious.

missed opportunity, what a shame. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of consultation exercise? I have to be honest folks, it looks like brockley is well and truely left on its own. I suggest we stop complaining and get up and do something local. How about painting the railings around the trees? I'm trying to sort out mantle rd flowerbeds, anyone interested visit my blog for details.

Nick - Because the big green metal things have gone then that's an improvement. But it would have been an improvement just to do that and move the other green bins up against the wall. Seriously - were Art Mongers commissioned to tell the council they might be better off to rearrange the bins? If so then I have major, major worries about the people who work in the council. I believed (obviously wrongly) that the bins used to be positioned where they were for some kind of access reason and convenience. Anyone....... anyone, could have told the council that they would look better against the wall. therefore all Art mongers have done from what I can tell is repaint the bins. A horrible drab beige. Like the Brockley road needs more beige. I hope my disappointment is coming over here because to me this is a joke. I get the idea behind making them look like parcels. Nice idea. But they don't even do that.

Nick - do you really think this is a good solution? Not better than what was there before because that is not a real measure of quality. Let face it, anything would be an improvement on what was there before so that should be a given.Does this really do for you what you thought it would? Are you seriously happy that this is how the money has been spent? You know what I think. P

The stuff that annoys me is the stuff that doesn't get done, like the terrible pavements, the lack of enforcement of shop signage rules, the roundabout redevelopment, etc. The stuff that does get done and makes life better doesn't annoy me, even if it's not done the way I would have chosen. I can see why you don't like the design, but like the other anon said, my reaction when I saw them was 'phew, that's so much better'.

I'd rather vent my wrath on a host of other problems that remain unsolved.

Nick - That's fine to do that, but that doesn't mean things should be done to a below par standard. That to me sounds exactly like an approach which is trying to tick boxes rather than getting any quality. I only want solutions if they work well. If the bins can't be done properly yet then leave them until they can. Because this box has now been ticked by the council it will never be looked at again. This is what we've got for the next few years. We shouldn't settle for mediocrity in our own neighbourhood.

Just think about this for a moment. When you first broke the news about art mongers taking this on it was obvious that you were excited by the possibility of one of brockley's biggest blights to be solved. It hasn't been solved, it's been improved a little, (but when the bins get old/dirty the beige will not look good).Now you're prepared to let go as an "oh well, at least it's better.' Where's the excitement at a stunning solution. This was an opportunity and it's been missed. IMO.

Nick - I'm glad you do understand because like it or not you are now one of the gatekeepers of opinion in Brockley. You have done more thsan most in the last year or so to champion Brockley, and so if you settle for mediocrity, others will also.

The bins might look better in real life, in the context of the road (she says optimistically).

I think the bins are supposed to be like packages left at the side of the post office waiting for delivery, it does have a bit of wit...

I would like to have seen the brief for this. If they wanted to go for 'unobtrusive' then painting the bins 'in brick' to trompe l''oeil us, might have done the trick, but somebody would probably walk into them and then sue the council. This is now unlikely to happen so be thankful for small mercies, and be cheerful I say.

Anons various - If you open the image up, you can see more of the detail - which for me made it look more interesting than the small image.

It's not as instantly striking a concept as the nx cows, but I think they've played with the images of what goes into the bins as stamps or this way up signs on boxes quite nicely. I have only seen it in photos so far - look forward to seeing it in person...

I think the idea is a good one. But to me they don't deliver (ouch). They don't look enough like parcels to make the connection. Big, colourful, parcels in wrapping paper would have looked better with name tags or ribbons.

I've just found the brief well theme for this from the linked article above

"What the Council Giveth, the Artmongers Taketh AwayThe Brockley Max team bring word that Artmongers, the people behind Moo Cross and the Toadsmouth Key, will be transforming one of Brockley's famous eyesores - the bin farm down by the post office.

The theme for the piece is love, environment, recycling, local heritage, conservation and cleanliness – all subjects very close to Brockley's heart. The aim is to have the work all ready for the forthcoming Brockley Max festival. We're not sure whether the transformation will be permanent, but we hope so!

"There will be workshops so that Artmongers can work with local people, the first being tomorrow, Friday 16th May, 11am in Toadsmouth Too. You should also be able to find A4 leaflets with more info in cafes around the area. Email studio@artmongers.com for more info. "

So we in Brockley were able to take part if we wanted to. This is our OWN doing. One has to laugh.

[do dah] Well, I'm sure we could have taken part in things if we wanted to, but as it was on a Friday at 11am I think most of us would have been in work, in, y'know, proper jobs. In Central London. We're not all internet-based workers and yummy mummies in Brockley.

Walked past them yesterday and they literally made my blood boil - what a total waste of time and money - was looking forwrad to something like the ones in new cross - instead we get crap parcels????? How much were they paid i wonder? pointless retarded crap. Angry artist living in brockley!

This is a case of the Emperors new clothes. My guess it that the council people are so philistine they bowed to the artists 'vision' without challenge. If I was the client I wouldn't have signed this sh1t off and made them go back to the drawing board. Classic Brockley though, it occupies the middle ground with a tired shrug of the shoulders.

"it [Brockley] occupies the middle ground with a tired shrug of the shoulders".

To change things requires bold decisions. Be it funding for the Brockley Society or anything else. People may disagree with my views, but I hope people realise the importance of what I and now this anon has tried to say in this regard.

Yes, not recognisable as parcels. And if that is the way they use sellotape I will never give Artmongers a parcel of mine to wrap for the post - it looks more like bits of sticking plaster and not holding anything together!

But I agree a witty concept - they are very good at that, and nicely unobtrusive. We don't necessarily want to copy the New Cross cows.

OK OK - but you know what I mean (too many cows is boring)...and it is rude to say that we, you and I, don't want them - those who claim to represent Telegraph Hill but don't mention the Farmers Market in the Park in the same listing as the one in Hilly Fields - copying OUR cows.

Hmmm, don't know what happened to to the th farmers mkt listing, it certainly used to be there, may have got lost in a clean-up, the calendar's not very up-to-date. But oh dear, no need to get the hump about it. I / we don't claim to represent anyone, we just report on the local news, and try our best to be comprehensive. We're fairly reliant on the contributions of readers, so if we've missed something, please tell us. I interviewed bridget from hillaballoo yesterday, by the way.

I saw them in Sunday and although they did not make me think “wow” I wasn’t disappointed either – just thought it was a huge improvement on the mess that had blocked the corner of the pavement previously. (However, the pavement where the previous bins were is dark grey with dirt and could do with a pressure hose clean!)

If you read the parcels the address is amusing and although the cows in nx have visual impact I’m please our bins are unobtrusive and not readily recognisable as bins.

Where's this News Shopper list of Lewisham people (with Nick at No. 34) published? Who else is on it? Presumably Father Owen features somewhere. Having been around the borough for more years than I care to admit to I would be interested in seeing it. Tried searching their website but to no avail.

I'm sorry, but is no-one going to contest the remark that "cow-painted" recycling bins increased recycling in the area by 60%?! ... Not cynical by nature, i would usually let this pass, but where did this statistic come from!? Bafflingly still, is how was this apparent survey conducted? - Rest assured I am not a statistician, however I have my doubts over the so called "artistic" merits of spending money to paint some bins (destined to look crummy within a few months regardless of the quantity of paint used), in order to encourage recycling. Whatever happened to selfLESS actions for the common good? I hope my taxes haven't been squandered on this B*ll*cks, when the NHS is forever in deficit (no thanks in part to the Iraq and Afghanistan War - apologises for the tangent).